The Thinker's Garage Pondering Automotive History, Design and Culture
Posts Tagged ‘Porsche’
A tale of woe – The Toyota curse at Le Mans
The Le Mans 24 Hour race is undoubtedly one of the greatest spectacles in motorsport, and every edition produces as many stories of disappointment as triumph. Indeed some of the sport’s most pivotal moments have occurred at the Circuit de la Sarthe, from Motorsport’s Darkest Day in 1955 which saw 83 lives lost and started […]
Beyond Premium – The Resurgence of the Automotive Atelier
In the early days of the automobile, when car ownership was still preserve of the very wealthy, the car purchasing process was very different from today. With the ‘body on frame’ construction technique being the accepted car manufacturing method at the time, buyers had two major decisions – who should build the chassis and mechanical […]
Tatra – a forgotten influence on motoring
Which car features a rear mounted air cooled engine with overhead camshafts and a dry sump, in a chassis featuring rear swing axles and bodywork with an exceptionally low drag coefficient? The obvious answer to this question would wear a Porsche badge, but as early as 1933 there was a car available that combined these […]
The Porsche 911 – all things to all people
The Porsche 911. It appears in almost every ‘greatest car ever’ article. A 911 is a popular culture icon, and could be a motorsport enthusiast’s race car of choice, a blue chip classic car or maybe a seriously nice new one. They can have all sorts of meanings to people of all types – Porsche enthusiasts and the ways they […]
On brand diversification
With a product as emotional as a car, brand loyalty among niche manufacturers can be extremely high. Enthusiasts take the decisions of ‘their’ brands personally so when a brand famous for its niche products like Porsche or MINI diversifies, some hardcore fans will inevitably cry foul about the brand’s apparent selling out. But as much […]